


A Chance To Heal

by orphan_account



Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Car Accidents, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whump, also anti is the worst, although he becomes more than a friend..., chase is a personality created by schneep, iplier is the best friend ever, it makes sense when you read it I swear, one doctor looking after another
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 14:23:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14771342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Schneep/Chase gets sick at a bad time, and some unfortunate circumstances land him in the hospital - where he happens to find an old friend who has been very worried about him. Perhaps this is exactly what they both needed...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My friend and I wrote most of this rp-style over emails at 1 in the morning, so it's not completely edited and doesn't flow perfectly, but hopefully you'll have as much fun reading it as we did writing it! And in case it wasn't clear, all the egos are their own person, but Chase Brody and Dr Schneeplestein are the same person in this universe - that will be explained properly in a future chapter when it becomes relevant, I promise. Just bear with it for now!
> 
> Obviously we don't own Jack, Mark, or any of their various egos, etc etc, we're just borrowing them to play out some ideas. Enjoy!

Chase didn't stop. Not ever. There was always something that needed doing, be it practising his skills for his trick shot videos on YouTube, visiting Jack and talking to him every day, fighting long and hard to see his kids just for a few hours a week, or burying his past deep inside himself to push the pain away, he didn't have a second to breathe. But it was ok. He deserved it...  
The thing is, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it up. The alcohol and the long nights were starting to take a toll on him. But who was to know? The only thing left in his life that was even vaguely constant was the whisper of voices in his head.  
Sometimes, if he was lucky, it was the faint echoing memories of little Samuel and Samantha giggling as they played, his wife murmuring her love to him... Other times, though, a demonic laugh that kept him awake and paranoid at night, flickering glitches in the corners of his eyes... In his professional opinion, he was probably going mad. And it scared the hell out of him.  
He used to have it all. A loving family, a steady job as a Doctor, and a best friend who operated beside him. Fuck he missed those days... It was all gone forever, thanks to a final botched operation. He was fired on the spot and his life went downhill from there. Now when he stared at the bottom of the empty whisky glass he didn't recognise the person staring back. He sighed and once again filled the glass with the amber liquid he grew dependent on.  
Gazing at his reflection in the drink, his face seemed sunken in, hair greying and forehead wrinkled, a wrong accent burning his tongue whenever he spoke. Silently, he took the picture of his broken family and placed it face-down on the table so they didn't have to see him like this, and finally let the tears flow down his hollow cheeks...  
He needed something... anything! He just wanted to get away from the constant emptiness that filled his life. The tears streamed for what seemed forever until he eventually fell into a land of dreams. Where everything was right again. He woke up the next morning to blinding sunlight with one hell of a hangover. ... He didn't eat again.  
It was now too late to try and eat, as his stomach was angrily informing him... At least he made it into the bathroom this time before puking up last night's pain. It seemed like forever before he finally stopped retching, and by that point he knew he was running dangerously late. He scrubbed his teeth and face hard, trying desperately to get rid of any evidence of the hangover - his wife was searching for any reason at all to end this damn custody battle for him, and he had to put on his best appearance, even when his body was begging him to pull on his oldest pyjamas and crawl back into bed... Ugh... Was it just his imagination, or were his hangover symptoms especially bad today? His headache pounded like Jack's old drums, his stomach felt no better even after he'd thrown up, and it felt like he had barely slept for an hour... And why was he shivering? It was late spring!  
Oh no. Oh fuck no! Not now! He could not afford to be sick! There was no time! There was so many things he had to do, plus his weekend with the kids was coming up soon! But even as he thought that, he could feel the bile once again creeping up his throat and the darkness settle in at the corner of his eyes. Fuck...  
No, he was a doctor, doctors did NOT get sick! He just overdid it last night, that was all... He could do this... Shoving on his cleanest clothes, he tumbled into his car and sped off; he had a busy day today! The video for Jack's channel needed to be recorded and sent off for editing within an hour, and then he'd have maybe 20 minutes for the video for his own channel if he was lucky, before he had to be at the court to finalise the details of his weekend with the kids... He blasted the radio as loud as he could to keep himself awake...  
But then that damn song came on. The song that was played at his and Stacy's wedding. The tears started to well up in his eyes, temporarily blinding him. But it was for just long enough, with the music up loud enough, that he didn't hear or see the truck going through a red light...  
By the time he brought a hand to his face to scrub at his eyes, there was a blinding light, and everything went into slow motion before blackness enveloped him... He could finally sleep...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next few chapters are going to be flashbacks, sort of explaining how everyone ended up where they are now. Just to clear things up!

"Hello? Where is everyone?" Schneep wandered through the empty halls, knowing what was coming but acting surprised anyway till he got to the patio doors.  
" HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" He grinned at the sight of his family!  
"wow guys, a party?! There was no need for this!"  
"Of course there was, silly daddy! Birthdays mean parties!" Samantha squealed as she ran over to hug him, with Samuel following close behind. Both kids were already wearing party hats and were covered in cake frosting...  
He laughed and swung her up in the air. "Was this your idea then, sweetpea?"  
"We all thought of it! You've been so stressed with work so we thought this we would be fun!! And guess what?"  
He pretended to think for a minute then guessed. "You're secretly a unicorn?"  
"No silly!" She giggled. "Uncle Iplier is here as well!" One mention of his name and the man in question strolled over to join them.  
"Yeah, they tried to hire me to jump out of the cake but they couldn't afford me. So I decided to just come normally." He winked at his old friend as he ruffled the kids' hair.  
"Iplier!!! It's so good to see you again, buddy!!!!" Schneep hugged his old friend, grinning as excitedly as his children!  
"How have you been? And as fun as it would have been to watch you jump out of the cake, we both know Stacy would kill us if it went all over the garden, we get enough ants out here as it is without attracting more!"  
"Yeah, well that's probably due to your awful gardening skills, buddy!" The two of them laughed, quickly falling into routine banter.  
"Alright, that's enough messing around, you guys" A female voice cut through. "We have a cake to cut!"  
At this announcement, everyone ran over to the table, already piled high with food. Right in the middle sat a brightly-coloured cake, frosting chaotically swirled everywhere in the way that only two young children could manage to do. Schneep watched as Stacy lit the candles and Iplier conducted everyone as they sang Happy Birthday, waving around a stick he'd found as a makeshift baton until Samuel toppled out of his chair from giggling so hard! Happy tears filled his eyes as he whispered his wish in his first language, ensuring no-one else would know what the wish was;  
"I wish things could always be this happy..."  
Shadows swirled around the scene, causing it to fade to darkness. A bleep of heart monitor appeared suddenly, getting less and less frequent, till there was silence. The final mistake, the end of his career. A loss of a life... Oh fuck, how was he going to tell Stacy?  
No... God, why?! Why did he have to ruin this?! It was all his fault... Now Peter was gone... Stacy was on the verge of leaving him... The kids were frightened and upset by the arguing... And Dr Iplier wasn't even in work that day, his friend Warf had dragged him away for something... Oh god, it was all falling apart, wasn't it? As the more experienced doctors entered the operating theatre to check on him, he could only stare back at them helplessly, blood-soaked and still clutching Peter's arm...  
"I'm done, Schneep!" A voice cut through the darkness in the same way it could cut through him. "You promised me it would never happen again, now you don't have a job!"  
"Stacy, I..."  
"No, enough!" A sigh echoed through the darkness.  
"I want a divorce."  
Divorce. The word made his heart clench painfully, the world around him seeming to shatter like broken glass. He gazed at the woman he loved with all his heart, the woman he had felt for since the very day they met, the woman he'd vowed to love for the rest of his life... The woman who stared back at him coldly, who screamed at him each night, who had nothing left to give him anymore except impassive practicality...  
"I... I'm sorry... Ok, w-we can... Yeah... I'm sorry..."

"H-happy Birthday-y dear Schneep. Happy birthday to..." The words broke off with a sob. One year ago everything had been perfect. Now he was singing happy birthday to himself in an empty room. He sighed, running his hands through his fading green hair. He reached for the whisky on the shelf, a gift from Iplier last year. Just one glass, then bed...  
God, he missed Iplier - they'd tried to stay in contact, but Schneep had had to move pretty far after the divorce, and his friend's work was impossible to take a break from... Maybe it was a good thing, though; he hated the idea of Iplier seeing him like this. His hands were so shaky that he kept missing the shot glass, and ended up wasting half of the liquid on the carpet before shamelessly bringing the whole bottle to his lips, drinking deeply. The pain lessened almost instantly, and exhaustion took over. It looked like he'd actually get to sleep tonight...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still flashbacks!

Schneep winced as he heard the post being delivered, that was the last thing he needed right now. The bills were piling up and he was quickly running out of money, he couldn't keep selling everything in his house just to get by! As he dug around in his wardrobe for something to wear that day, he suddenly stumbled upon an old cap he hadn't worn in ages... And a crazy idea came to him. This was his Chase Brody hat, a goofy persona that he had developed while working in the children's ward to try and make some of the young teenagers laugh. Maybe... Maybe he could do something with that? A few of the kids had once commented that Chase Brody looked and sounded like someone who did trick shot videos on YouTube, and wasn't his friend Jack doing something similar with video games? It was worth a try, surely, desperate times called for truly desperate measures...  
But could he actually do it? It was one thing to do it for a couple of hours, but every day? What if no-one watched it? Then he'd be in even more trouble! Worse still, what if one of the kids saw him?  
OK, he decided, he'd make one video just to experiment a little, see if people liked it... And hopefully, Stacy still believed that Samuel and Samantha were too young for YouTube..  
"Yo, what's up guys?! I'm Chase, and welcome to my first video!"  
That intro had always gone down well with the kids... But what should he do his video on? He paused for a second, thinking.  
Suddenly, his eye caught on an old basketball and hoop, from when he and Iplier used to play each other during the summer. Schneep's - Chase's? - specialty had always been shooting from afar...  
Fuck it, what else could he lose?  
"This video is all about trick shots! Watch and prepare to be amazed!"  
He steadied his shaking hands and turned backwards. Oh please let this work...  
Once in position, he closed his eyes, knowing that the viewers would think it was part of the stunt, but in reality he needed to clear his mind. Take himself back a little... He imagined the sun, hot against an already-sunburnt back, the grass between his bare toes, the taste of popsicles and lemonade still lingering faintly in his mouth... He remembered the laughter and playful taunts of Iplier, the insistence that he'd NEVER get it in the hoop from all the way across the garden! He felt determination filling him, aiming carefully with all his focus, and threw...  
And heard the ringing sound of it spinning round the inside of the hoop, then the soft plop as it hit the grass. Did he do it? He turned around, hardly daring to breathe... And...  
"YES!! WHOO-HOO!"  
He knew what came next - an over-the-top celebration to make everyone laugh!!! He ran around the room, cheering his head off like an idiot, then paused suddenly in front of the camera as an idea came to him...  
"Oh, by the way, I call that one the 'fuck you Iplier'!" He laughed, before running off again, tossing his hat in the air and catching it again on his head!  
Finally, when all of the editing was done, it was time to post it. Oh god, he hoped this would get a good amount of views. One more unpaid bill and he was done for!  
He decided that if this video did REALLY well, he'd get something good for dinner tonight too, not just whatever microwavable meal was cheapest... Holding his breath nervously, he pressed the 'upload' button, and waited...  
Nothing at first. Then as the hours ticked by, more and more dings came from his computer, indicating likes! He decided a chicken curry was in order for this. He made his way to the nearest supermarket, pondering over the different choices. Finally he decided on good ol' korma. He rounded the corner to pay... Oh shit! Was that Dr Iplier? He couldn't see him like this, what he'd been resorted to! Hide, hide, hide!  
He hastily pulled his Chase hat over most of his face and turned to stare intently at one of the shelves, then, as an extra precaution, pulled his phone out and pretended to talk into it in his Chase voice, keeping his accent locked away tight inside him...  
Every urge inside him wanted to run to his friend, tell him what happened and let him help him. But no. He had to do this on his own. He got himself into this mess, so he'd get hmself out. Thankfully though, the disguise seemed to work. His oldest friend walked past him without so much as a second glance.  
He very firmly told himself that the empty ache inside him was just from minimal food for the last few days, not because of Iplier, and headed over to pay for tonight's meal...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More flashbacks! I promise they're coming to an end! Also, the scene that Schneep/Chase is remembering is a retelling of what happened in the Bio Inc Redemption video where anti took over Schneep!

Schneep/Chase kept himself carefully hidden, staying inside the shop until he was sure Iplier was gone. God, he had wanted to run over to his friend, just to hear his voice again, but what would he say if he discovered his best friend, a proud man with a doctor's degree, was reduced to trickshot YouTube videos and a dumb character he hadn't used in years?  
He knew Iplier would be nothing but supportive with him and would help him to get out of his rut. But he just couldn't bring himself to talk to him.  
This was all just too shameful, too stupid! He should have a better job than this already, it had been months!!! He quietly vowed to himself that he wouldn't let Iplier see him until he had a steadier job... But as he checked his phone and saw a text from Jack, he had a sudden sinking feeling that things weren't going to improve anytime soon... Jack was feeling under the weather, apparently, and had requested Schneep come check him over when he had a minute. This sounded too much like last time...  
God, he just wanted to forget that day forever. It was a chilly November night, and he had been freezing his butt off. Jack had welcomed him with a smile and a hot drink, but then things went downhill...  
Jack had been feeling well enough to record a game at the start of the night, Schneep was just there on standby... Even when Jack had ran out of his recording room to be sick, it hadn't been overly alarming - just a tummy bug, right? Since he knew Jack needed a video, Schneep had decided it would be fun to make one of himself diagnosing and curing Jack of whatever nasty virus he'd suddenly come down with... That was the day he first met The Demon, the entity that Jack feared with every fibre of his being, that he rarely spoke of in case he gave It more power...  
Oh god... He felt him inside his head that day. All he wanted was to make a fun video, he didn't want to get caught up in shit like this! He wasn't qualified for fuck's sake!  
He didn't blame Jack, of course, he hadn't asked for any of this, but come on! He was a doctor, not a damn priest!!! He remembered the tingling pain in his arm, the strange diagnostic tests that seemed to get alarmingly severe unnaturally quickly... The feeling of tumbling in and out of consciousness, waking up to find he'd started choking himself with Jack's headphones, images of a demonic grin and a slit throat hurting his eyes every time he blinked... Then out of nowhere, Jack's heartbeat had disappeared, and the doctor had blacked out hard, feeling something take over his body completely...  
the worst part was that when it happened, he still knew what was going on. He could feel his lips move to make the words come out but he was powerless to stop it! Trapped inside his own mind with no idea of when it would be over...  
Every glitch was agony as his body was pushed in and out of reality, his throat burned and dripped with dark blood, he couldn't breathe... His vision had suddenly gone black as he heard the distorted voice hiss "I wonder what will happen to your FAVOURITE BOY now..." Before everything went silent... He'd woken up on the floor the next morning as sunlight streamed through the windows. He had sat up despite the agony that caused, and found that Jack was back to life, although completely unconscious, and whatever footage the camera had recorded was completely corrupted...  
His years of doctor training quickly kicked in and he hurried to place Jack on a couch. While Jack lay unconscious, he debated whether or not to pass it off to him as a fever dream. Surely he had been through enough already? At the same time, though, he deserved to know...  
In the end, he didn't need to debate on telling Jack. As soon as the man jerked back into consciousness, sitting bolt upright as though waking from a bad dream, he lightly touched his neck and winced...  
"Oh god... It happened again, didn't it, Schneep? He... He's back..." He whispered, his voice raw and painful...  
Schneep nodded sombrely.  
"Jack... How long has this been happening for? Please, I need to know."  
"I... Halloween, last year. Something started taking over, it calls itself antisepticeye... It's some kind of demon, and it... Oh god, I can't be doing this! It gets more powerful the more people talk about it and think about it, you need to pretend it doesn't exist..." Jack rambled wildly, trying to explain as much as he could with as few words as possible...  
"It's ok Jack, I understand. Now, I need you to calm down and look at me, I promise I won't let it hurt you..."  
Jack had gazed up at him trustingly, shivering violently even as his body burned with a leftover fever from the effects...  
And he had let him down...  
Schneep/Chase shuddered at the memory. No, that glitchy freak probably wasn't back! It really would just be a virus or a bug this time, no big deal... He was sure...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OK, Schneep is finally waking up! Sorry for the long wait on this one, we were both really busy!

But if it was all over then why could he still hear the sound of a heart monitor? There was a steady pace to it and it seemed to be getting louder by the minute. Why did his world suddenly seem to be getting brighter?  
He groaned and pressed his eyes tightly shut to block out the blinding brightness, it hurt his head!!! Wait, where had this awful headache suddenly came from? Why did his body feel so heavy and weighed-down?  
What the hell was in his arm? He thought about ripping it out for a minute, but this wasn't a movie for Christ's sake! His doctor instincts kicked in and he reasoned that it must be there for a purpose. Good or bad; he was about to find out. There was also the small problem that he wasn't sure he could even lift his arm yet. Footsteps started in the distance and he could hear them approaching his...bed? What was going on?  
When had he gotten into a bed and laid down? He didn't have time for that! And whose voice was that, talking to him? He recognised it from somewhere...  
It was very calming to him and somehow made him feel like he used to. Before things went wrong. But there wasn't time to dwell on that! There was too much work to do! He made a motion to get out of bed, and the world straight away started to spin.  
With a yelp, he decided to stay still for a few minutes more, just to let the dizziness pass... He'd just stay and listen to the voice, this wasn't so bad...  
Suddenly a large hand was placed on his shoulder and he heard the voice more clearly.  
"Well, look who's up at last!"  
Oh, that voice, he knew that voice almost as well as his own, he'd missed it so much! Ignoring the pain of the blinding light, he forced his eyes open to make sure he was right...  
"I... Iplier!" He cringed as he spoke, his voice was hoarse and his accent embarrassingly thick, he couldn't focus enough to use his Chase Brody voice right now...  
"Schneep! If I wasn't so afraid of breaking you, you would be getting hugged right now!" His voice suddenly softened to what they had jokingly nicknamed the doctor voice.   
"How are you feeling?"  
"...Confused, and in more than a little pain" He admitted. "But it'll take more than that to break a real doctor!!! Still, though, what happened?"  
"You were in a car crash." He explained. "A car ran a red light and hit you!"  
"Well that would explain it... God, why today of all days? I had so much to do..."  
"Hate to tell you, buddy, but you won't be doing anything for a long time! You need to rest..."  
"But my weekend with the kids! And all the court dates, and Jack's youtube channel, and MY channel..." He babbled unthinkingly, his fear overtaking for a moment and allowing him to forget that Iplier didn't know about ANY of this...  
"Wait, what channel? What are you talking about?"  
"O-oh!" Whoops, he'd done it now! "Uh, nothing, I think I'm just delirious..."  
Wrong thing to say to a doctor.  
" What? Ok do you see anything else weird? How many fingers am I holding up?"   
These kinds of questions continued for a while. He wasn't usually like this, but Schneep suspected it was because he used to be his best friend.  
Schneep slightly liked the fussing, it made him feel more himself, like he was before... Before it all went wrong...


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next few days, Schneep stubbornly kept trying to leave, sneaking out of bed and trying to check himself out of the hospital early. He had too much to do, he couldn't afford to lie in bed all day no matter how bad he felt!   
This one time, he actually made it out the hospital doors! He had felt a small sense of victory... For about five seconds, until Dr Iplier had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, giving him a stern look and carried him bridal style back to his bed despite all his very loud complaining.  
Schneep just KNEW the other patients had been filming as he was carried back to bed, Chase Brody's precious reputation was never going to live this one down!!!!! He was careful not to say that part aloud, though, since Iplier still didn't know. He really did want it to stay that way...  
But of course that couldn't happen! Iplier decided one day that the perfect way to relax was to watch some YouTube videos. And suddenly a trick shot video caught his eye...  
Poor Schneep had finally managed to fall asleep, and didn't see Iplier tap on the video with fascinated curiosity, didn't hear the muttered joke about how Schneep must have an identical twin somewhere...  
Then again the name Chase Brodly did ring a bell for Dr Iplier. But where had he heard it from? He found his eyes wandering to sleeping Schneep!  
Suddenly, it hit him all at once! His friend watching the young teenagers stuck in the children's ward, bored and miserable and surrounded by annoying toddlers, he had felt so sorry for them! Iplier could remember falling out of his chair in shock and laughter when his best friend came running into the ward all of a sudden with a ridiculous cap and an even more ridiculous new name, and started shooting crumpled pieces of paper into the bin from the other end of the huge room, running around high-fiving anyone who would play along, grinning at each reluctant smile and giggle he coaxed out of the teens...  
This was what he meant when he said he had a channel to take care of?! He thought that was a one time thing! Unless... Did he need to do this to pay the bills? Was this his job? He glanced over at his sleeping friend once more. What had happened to him that resorted him to this?  
Then again... Iplier suddenly recalled the other things Schneep had listed off, court cases and Jack's channel and why would he have only one weekend to see his own children...? Oh lord, what had happened to his poor doctor buddy?  
He suspected highly it had something do with that damn wife of his! He may have pretended to make nice so he could make Schneep happy, but he always had a sneaking suspicion she was only with him for his money...  
And of course, as soon as his friend had been fired for whatever reason - Schneep had never told him, hadn't even told him he was leaving - she had gotten out of there with the cash and the kids and left him to survive on his own. Schneep had never been very good at surviving on his own...  
But that was all in the past now! Now Dr Iplier was here and he was going to make sure his oldest and dearest friend never had to suffer again. But how to bring it up?  
There really wasn't a good way, so Iplier decided to go with hopefully the easiest route - watch the videos by Schneep's bedside and let the subject come up naturally...  
But Schneep was refusing to talk about it! Iplier knew he had seen it. He could see his eyes dart towards it!  
Finally, Iplier had to just bite the bullet and get it out there...  
"Schneep… I know it's you in the videos..." He said softly. "I recognise the character. What happened that you're doing this now?"  
Schneep froze up for a second. Then he looked at Iplier and smiled at him. Iplier knew it was a fake smile but he let that slide for the time being.   
"Nothing happened, bud! What, can't a guy just make funny YouTube videos anymore?"  
Iplier raised his eyebrows in surprise, it wasn't like Schneep to get so defensive!  
"Of course you can, it just seemed curious that you'd get into it. You never expressed much interest in YouTube before, not even just watching videos..."  
"Well it's nothing to worry about, ok? Just me having a laugh. Please let's drop this!"  
Iplier obligingly dropped it, but he was more worried than ever now! Schneep sounded almost frightened, but why would he be scared of his best friend? He feared he might never know...


	7. Chapter 7

But he knew it couldn't last. When he was with Dr Iplier he almost felt like things could be normal again. But eventually Iplier would get sick of him and throw him to the side. And he didn't think he could take that happening to him again.  
He HAD to get better before Iplier lost patience, he had to get out of here and away from the only connection he had to his old life...  
It was time for a hospital break out. Now, he had seen many people try and do this when he was a doctor, and he had stopped almost every one of them - all except that strange guy with the pink mustache. Wonder what happened to that guy? Schneep stopped and shook his head, he was getting distracted. They may not have been able to break out, but he sure could. He knew every turn of this hospital and he knew exactly how to get out.   
First step was to wait until the middle of the night, Iplier never took the night shift - he had a very delicate sleep schedule, and changing things would leave him falling asleep on his feet for weeks afterward. Once it was just past midnight, he'd grab his torch, slip out of bed, and make his way through the familiar corridors until he was free! It was that easy!  
Five hours later, night had fallen on the hospital and it was time for him to make his breakout. He ran through the corridors, avoiding the break room until he finally made it to the back door. But just as he was about to step out... He hesitated. What if this time it was different? What if he had a chance of feeling whole again? But on the other hand... could he really handle the pain of losing a friend all over again if Iplier did leave? After all, Jack was in a coma all because he couldn't make it there on time.  
Jack, he knew in his heart, might not be waking up from this one... The Demon might have already won the fight... So severing his ties to Iplier and making a run for it would mean being completely alone, no friends or family to speak of - not even his kids, he'd missed too many court dates while unconscious. He hesitated by the door, feeling childish tears cloud his eyes. It wasn't FAIR! Why did he have to choose like this?! No matter what he picked, he was screwed! He was just destined to lose everyone he ever loved...  
Why was all this happing to him? He may not have been the best doctor but he always tried his best! He didn't think he had done anything to deserve this! The hot, salty tears were just running down his face and he made no attempt to stop them. Why couldn't he just be loved again and feel safe in that?  
Did he really not even deserve that much? He didn't know anymore... He slumped to the floor miserably and began sobbing into his knees, scared and cold and ALONE. He was so, so sick of being alone. Stupid as it was, he would have given anything to just be held by someone right now! Pulled into strong, safe arms and allowed to feel as though he could be protected forever...  
He lay there outside the hospital for a good half hour, finally letting out years of sadness. If anyone saw him they didn't care enough to check on him. They were all too busy with their own demons. As the sobbing died down to hard, broken chokes, he made his decision. He couldn't take another heart ache, he had to do this on his own. It's not like Dr Iplier really cared. He was just another medical record in the filing room.  
That's all he'd ever be to anyone, no matter what... Or so he thought. Little did he know, Iplier had been worrying about his friend that night, so much so that he'd been unable to sleep! He hadn't even had to think before he was pulling on his clothes and hopping into his car for a late-night visit. Schneep kept ridiculous sleeping hours, he knew, he'd probably still be awake. As schneep opened the door, Iplier made his way to it, deciding to go through the back door so as not to wake or disturb anyone...


	8. Chapter 8

Iplier slipped silently through the back door, his mind only on his best friend - he needed to check on him, see that he was alright! Schneep had been way quieter than usual lately, and Iplier had definitely noticed the change! His friend was barely even eating!  
And this was the man he had once seen eat 30 chicken strips by himself! Dr Iplier still wasn't sure how he had done that...  
Most would have thrown up by 20! Well, regardless, Iplier had brought Schneep's favourite take-out in hopes of breaking this worrying little habit...  
After all, judging from the shape of him, Dr Iplier wasn't sure the last time he had gotten a decent meal. He hoped he could sit down and talk to him just like they used to do in the old days. After midnight they had talked about everything and nothing at the same time.  
Schneep used to swear that late at night was when a person's inhibitions and brain-to-mouth filter were at their lowest, that sleepovers could always lead to the deepest and most interesting conversations... It could also lead to a bit more affection than usual, if Iplier was remembering right! But he usually tried not to think about those moments, it was embarrassing and awkward to look back on...  
Shaking his head, he tried to clear his thoughts. The past didn't matter - all that mattered now was finding Schneep and making him feel safe again. He reached for the door handle...  
At the same time, the man in question did the same on the other side! As the door flew open, both friends jumped a mile at seeing someone on the other side!!! It took a good minute for them to register who they were seeing...  
"Scneep?!  
At the same time he exclaimed  
"Iplier?!"  
Dr Iplier stared at Schneep for a moment before the worry kicked in.  
"Why are you out of your bed, it's dangerous!"  
"Wh-what the hell are you doing here? It's the middle of the night, you should be at home in YOUR bed!" Schneep cursed the slight wobble in his voice, knowing that it was a dead giveaway to his emotions. He was trying his hardest to sound normal, he really was! But he'd just gotten the fright of his life, and now the very person who he had simultaneously been longing to see and trying to avoid was standing right there in front of him, looking so worried and gentle and holding a bag that smelled deliciously of his favourite food... He knew that one wrong word, one tiny nudge, and he'd fall apart all over again...  
" I was worried about you! So much so that I couldn't sleep! Schneep, I know something is wrong and that you're trying to hide it for some reason, but please, you don't have to do that anymore! I'm here for you now!" Dr Iplier took Schneep by his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes...  
"So I'm going to ask you one more time, as your best friend... What is wrong?"  
...Well fuck. There was the very nudge he had been dreading, and it did exactly as he'd known it would. Wide baby-blue eyes filled with fresh tears as he stared down at his feet, unable to look his friend in the face any longer...  
"I... I-I... I can't l-lose yoooouuuu..." He just about managed to choke out, before he started to sob helplessly, shoulders shaking with the intensity, chest heaving as he struggled to breathe enough...


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yep, we're doing it! Get ready everyone, this is where the shipping starts!!!

Schneep clung to his best friend, his lifeline, sobbing pathetically as he let everything out. Every fear, every negative emotion, every whispered word inside his head that told him he meant nothing... All he could do was surrender and let Iplier see the worst, ugliest parts of himself, and what Iplier did with that... Well... That was out of his control...  
Iplier held on to him, stroking his chestnut brown hair and muttering soothing nothings. All that mattered at the moment was giving his friend the comfort he deserved and craved for so many years.  
At one point, one of them pulled them both to the floor, but neither could tell which it had been, they were nothing more than a tangle of intertwined limbs by that point. Schneep was shaking again, unable to believe that this was real, that anyone could care so much that they could look at this sobbing, hopeless mess and decide it was worth sticking around to help...  
They stayed there for what seemed like an endless amount of time, wrapped up, feeling their love for each other burn bright in their hearts.  
At some point, some people may have seen them, but they didn't have time to wonder about them. They were too caught up in their own lives to dwell on them, so they were able to lie there undisturbed.  
It felt like nothing was going to shatter the moment, like nothing could break them out of this little fragment of heaven they'd managed to find... Until Iplier, finally acting on an instinct he'd been repressing since the day they met, bent his head slightly and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Schneep's head, smiling into his fluffy hair...  
Schneep shuffled about so he could gaze back at Iplier. He grinned at him and gently pulled himself up and pecked his nose, blushing as red as his companion's hair.  
" So..."  
" So?"  
"So, was that ok?" He asked carefully. If it had been too much, Iplier knew he would happily back off, give Schneep as much space as he needed... But god, he hoped that wasn't the case...  
" It most definitely was..." whispered Schneep.  
"God, I haven't felt like that since... Actually, I don't think I've ever felt like that."  
"What, not even with Stacy?" This was supposed to be said as a playful tease, but Iplier just ended up sounding awed and delighted that he was the only one who could do that to him, make him feel that way...  
"No, not even with her. You set something off in me, Iplier, and I don't think I can live without you."  
"Well aren't I just the luckiest doctor in the world? 'Cause I don't think I can live without you either..." He murmured, a gentle hand caressing his more-than-friend's cheek...


	10. Chapter 10

For quite a while, the two doctors couldn't bear to move from each others' arms! But eventually, Schneep started to shiver and the food Iplier had brought was beginning to get cold, and the sounds of other people walking around the hospital became more noticeable...  
Iplier tilted up Schneep's head and gazed into his eyes.  
"Shall we go inside, love? We can't have you getting sicker, now can we?" He murmured to him, voice low and soothing.  
Schneep sighed happily at his voice and nodded quietly, trying to push himself to his feet but wobbling unsteadily - the long walk through the hospital, combined with the intense emotions of the past few hours, had left him embarrassingly weakened...  
Iplier had a solution to that. He gently placed one arm under Schneep's legs and the other across his back, supporting him. In one swift movement, he had lifted him up into the air.  
"How's that feeling?"   
Schneep gave a soft whine that might have been from embarrassment, or possibly from happiness, it was hard to tell - Schneep himself didn't seem quite sure!  
"...It's good..." He admitted quietly...  
Iplier grinned at how easily flustered Schneep got and took a mental note of it for the future...  
"Well then love, let's go."   
With that, he straightened up and started to walk towards Schneep's room. Schneep flushed red and decided to break the silence - he wanted to hear Iplier's voice as much as possible!   
"You called me love earlier. Are we onto pet names already?"  
"We might be... If my love happened to particularly like pet names, then it'd only make sense to get to that step pretty quickly so I could make him smile all the more..." Iplier was practically purring by this point, keeping his voice exactly how Schneep liked it best...  
"God damn it he's smooth" was the only thought running through Schneep's head. He smiled bashfully at Iplier.   
" Umm, y-yeah, I do."  
"Then love it is! Or would you rather I called you babe?" Iplier teased as he walked through the corridors, hurrying back to his friend's room...  
Schneep gently shoved his chest.  
"Stop teasing me, I'm not well!"  
"You're right, you're right, I'm not that cruel..." Iplier grinned as he gently laid Schneep down onto his bed, pulling the covers around him...  
Now was Schneep's chance to get his own back! He smirked and pulled Iplier in for a long kiss, knowing his boyfriend wouldn't mind. When they finally pulled away, Schneep smiled at Iplier's lovestruck face.  
The moment their lips touched, Iplier's brain completely short-circuited, everything else fading away until there was only himself and his boyfriend and the happy floaty feelings the kiss was giving him... He couldn't help but grin stupidly, even as the kiss ended...

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


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